Safety belt buckle



Se t. 24, 1963 F. L. DAVIS SAFETY BELT BUCKLE Filed July 19, 1962 v/ m% TA '/W MD 0 I l k A VA A M M Y B Dal V o 2 my I" 3 ln fl 1 f 3 06 42 m United States Patent f 3,104,440 SAFETY BELT BUCKLE Frank L. Davis, College Point, N.Y. (30 Mariners Lane, Northport, N.Y.) Filed July 19, 1962, Ser. No. 211,036 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-230) The invention herein disclosed relates to buckles for use with safety belts and the general objects of the invention are to provide a buckle which can be quickly and easily connected and disconnected, which can be readily adjusted to different belt lengths, which will be relatively small but amply strongly and durable, and which will be neat and attractive in appearance.

Other, related objects are to provide a buckle having advantages mentioned which will be of relatively simple, inexpensive construction and practical and efiicient, both from a manufacturing standpoint and in actual service.

Other desirable objects and the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts through which all such objects are attained are set forth and will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification illustrates one practical commercial embodiment of the invention. Structure however may be modified and changed as regards this illustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

FIG. 1 in the drawing is a plan view of one of the buckles, showing the parts in separated relation.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation but with parts connected as in use.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view on substantially the plane of line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view on plane of line 4-4 of FIG. 2..

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on substantially the plane of line 5--5 of FIG. 2.

In the several views the frame of the buckle is shown as of channel formation embodying a flat base 7 having upstanding parallel side walls or flanges 8 and 9.

The side wall 8 has a circular bearing opening 10 with a notch 11 in the inner edge portion and the other side wall 9 has an opposed companion bearing opening 12 of smaller diameter.

The bolt or pin 13, which serves as a pivotal support, has a smaller end 14 entered in the smaller opening and a larger circular head 15 entered in the circular opening and having a small radially projecting key lug 16 engaged in the notch to hold the pin in nonrotatable relation.

A spring lock ring 17 engaged in a groove 18 in the protruding smaller end portion of the pin secures the pin against withdrawal from the bearing openings.

Pivotally mounted on the intermediate portion of this stationary bolt is a bifurcated or forked detent lever 19, having laterally spaced projecting arms 20, 21, to engage in correspondingly spaced openings 22, 23, provided in .the terminal plate 24, which is attached to the end of web 25.

A coil spring 26, on the bolt, having one end 27, entered in a notch 28, in the head of the bolt and the opposite end 29, entered in a notch 30, in detent lever 19, holds this lever down, with its projecting tongues 20, 21, extending through the locking openings in the terminal plate and through correspondingly located openings 31, 32, in the base portion of the frame.

Release of the detent lever is effected by a hand lever 33, shaped to form a cover over the top of the frame and having dependent side flanges 34, 35, pivotally engaged over the larger and smaller end portions of the bolt, at

substantially the 3,104,440 Patented Sept. 24, 1963 theends of the detent lever and having hook lugs 35,

, the head of the bolt and the detent and thus preventing the bolt from shifting inward beyond the extent per mitted by engagement of the opposite end of the detent with the flange 35, of .the cover when that flangeis in engagement with the side wall 9, of the frame.

The other section of webbing indicated at 41, is adjustably connected with the frame by being looped about an adjustable bar 42, slidingly engaged at its ends in slots 43, in the sides of the frame, in position to bind the loop against a fixed abutment bar or pin 44. I v v The latter pin is shown as rigidly secured to the side walls of the frame as by riveting or the like. This pin thus forms the only rigid connection between the sides of the frame and may be secured in this fixed relation after the adjustment bar has first been inserted in its guide slots.

The fixed abutment pin may be knurled as indicated, to more firmly grip the web and the sliding bar may have corrugated edges for the same purpose.

The ends of the adjustment bar are shown as extended at 45, to form finger grips or handles to facilitate adjustment of this bar.

On shifting this bar away from the abutment pin, the loop of webbing is free to be adjusted in either direction and at all times the webbing may be adjusted in a direction to take up slack.

The spring holds the detent tensioned downward in the frame and through engagement of the lugs connecting the detent wtih the cover, holds the cover down in closed position bearing on the cross pin at 46, FIG. 2, and hence secure against rattling.

To hold the end plate 24, against possible rattling and to assure its immediate release when the cover is raised, a bowed spring 47, may be riveted or otherwise secured at 48, on the base in position to bear against the inner end of the end plate. This spring serves .to efiect release of the web plate with a desirably quick snap action.

The openings 31, 32, in the base of the frame enable the detent fingers to extend entirely through the openings in the web plate, assuring maximum holding engagement of the detent with this plate.

The web securing parts are readily adjustable for web length in either direction. 7

The companion parts of the buckle can be instantly engaged by entering the web plate in the open end of the buckle and can be instantly released by simply lifting the cover.

The parts are few in number and can be economically produced and assembled.

The circular form of bearing opening with the small notch in the inner edge portion reduces stress concentration over earlier forms of frame with angular openings to receive bolts with hexagonal heads, avoiding weakness which might result in failure under extreme load conditions.

The forked detent with spaced holding projections 20, 21, at the ends of the same puts the load on the bearing supported ends of the bolt and the separate openings 22, 23, in the web plate 24, for the holding projections, leave this plate strong enough to carry any loads to which it may be subjected and enable this plate to adjust itself to equalize load on the two holding projections.

What is claimed is:

l. A safety belt buckle, comprising a channel frame having a base and parallel side walls, said base having laterally spaced openings therethrough and one of said side walls having a circular bearing opening with a notch therein and the other side wall having a companion but smaller bearing opening, a-bolt having'a circular head a and projecting lug at one end engaged in the larger circular notched bearing opening and a smaller end portion engaged in said smaller bearing opening, a cover having side flanges journalled on said larger and smaller end portions of said bolt at the inner sides of said side walls, a detent journalled on said'bolt between said side flanges and having spaced holding projections extending into said openings in the base in a lowered position of said detent,

said detent having projecting lugs at the ends of the same and said dependent flanges, of the cover having hook lugs engageable with said detent carried lugs for lifting the detent away from the base, a coil spring on said bolt having one end engaged with the head of the bolt and the other end engaged with said detent and a web terminal plate insertable in the end of the frame over the base of the same and having openings to receive the locking projections on said detent lever.

2. The invention according to claim 1, with a spring on the base engageable by the end of said web plate to'expel the latter from the frame when the cover is raised to release the detent from said plate.

3. The invention according to claim 1, with said coil Y spring interposed as a spacer between the circular head 7 of the bolt and the adjoining end of the detent to limit movement of the bolt in one direction and means on the opposite end of the bolt limiting movement of the same in the opposite direction.

2,803,864 Bishai Aug; 27, 1957'- 2,893,088 Harper July 7,1959 3,078,538 Brown Feb. 26, 1963 

1. A SAFETY BELT BUCKLE, COMPRISING A CHANNEL FRAME HAVING A BASE AND PARALLEL SIDE WALLS, SAID BASE HAVING LATERALLY SPACED OPENINGS THERETHROUGH AND ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING A CIRCULAR BEARING OPENING WITH A NOTCH THEREIN AND THE OTHER SIDE WALL HAVING A COMPANION BUT SMALLER BEARING OPENING, A BOLT HAVING A CIRCULAR HEAD AND PROJECTING LUG AT ONE END ENGAGED IN THE LARGER CIRCULAR NOTCHED BEARING OPENING AND A SMALLER END PORTION ENGAGED IN SAID SMALLER BEARING OPENING, A COVER HAVING SIDE FLANGES JOURNALLED ON SAID LARGER AND SMALLER END PORTIONS OF SAID BOLT AT THE INNER SIDES OF SAID SIDE WALLS, A DETENT JOURNALLED ON SAID BOLT BETWEEN SAID SIDE FLANGES AND HAVING SPACED HOLDING PROJECTIONS EXTENDING INTO SAID OPENINGS IN THE BASE IN A LOWERED POSITION OF SAID DETENT, SAID DETENT HAVING PROJECTING LUGS AT THE ENDS OF THE SAME AND SAID DEPENDENT FLANGES, OF THE COVER HAVING HOOK 